Tara Wells

Sydney’s 60 km Great West Walk traverses a landscape of woodlands, river systems and parklands whist also offering an insight into some Australia’s oldest architecture.

A walk can be more than an accumulation of footsteps, more than stringing two locations together by foot. One of the best ways to get to this deeper experience is through story. That was my goal in writing The Bondi to Manly Walk Guidebook. Keeping the comfort of how to get from A to B but with more. I set out to weave together the many layers of a green city into one common thread and by doing so, transform a (very pretty) walk into a memorable experience.

Make sure you pack your togs for this epic Sydney walk, writes Tara Wells.

Walking the new 80km Bondi to Manly track from one iconic beach to another is a revelation. Passing through the city centre and over the harbour bridge, the walk wends in and out of Sydney Harbour National Park. It takes in every available green space and waterfront, yet still delights in traversing urban areas usually reserved for resident multi-millionaires, avoiding main roads wherever it can.

Here, there’s no hint of the city’s petrol-hazed traffic crawl, no cacophony of mega-mall food courts. It’s Sydney, but not as you know it. This is the Bondi to Manly Walk, a new 80km track gripping the city’s coastline like its coffee-fueled life depends on it.

The lunar landscapes, lush jungles and varied ecosystems of Hawaii’s Haleakala National Park offer out-of-this-world hiking.